According to Laird, Apple used a “public-key crypto scheme” to prevent other devices from chatting via AirPlay natively. Third-party tools like Rogue Amoeba’s Airfoil work around this limitation by “hijacking” audio from unlicensed devices and piping it (using AirPlay’s public key) to Apple’s Airport Express or Apple TV.

ShairPort solves the other half of the equation by unlocking the private key and cutting out the middleman. It basically emulates an AirPort Express and allows you to stream directly from iTunes or iOS sources to whatever device you like. Put another way: No more fussy in-between-y handholding or redundant workaround utilities.

That’s if you’re up for a little hack-your-own. It’s unlikely any third-party would flout Apple’s implicit position here. If it did, Apple could (and probably would) litigate–or simply render the hack moot by closing the hole.